Gilead looks for licensing partners while ramping-up remdesivir
Gilead Sciences can only start production of its newly authorized COVID-19 drug remdesivir, so it is looking for other companies to bolster the global supply. The FDA gave remdesivir an emergency authorization on the basis of the controlled data, which showed that the medicine is able to cut the recovery time for hospitalized patients by about 31%. Under the authorization, the U.S. government will be handling the distribution of the drug.
Even as it prepared with its own remdesivir ramp-up, Gilead stated that it is in licensing talks with the leading chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing companies of the world about their abilities to produce remdesivir for several countries in Europe, Asia, and others until at least 2022. Remdesivir’s manufacturing depends on the scarce raw materials that require their own production timelines that are quite lengthy. Moreover, the coordination required for the production of the drug is critical. Disruptions could reduce the output or increase manufacturing time significantly. Gilead’s is also in discussing terms for long-term licensing deals with the generic drug makers in India and Pakistan for the production of the COVID-19 drug.
Big Biotech is offering up its technology to get these companies started. Gilead is also in talks to license the drug to Medicines Patent Pool, a group which would further sublicense it to generic companies for its production in the emerging markets. After Gilead’s emergency FDA authorization, Beximco, a Bangladeshi company, stated that it is planning to produce the medicine for its domestic use, but it remains unclear whether Beximco has a license.
On the distribution side, Gilead is already in advanced discussions with UNICEF to use the humanitarian organization’s expertise in distributing medicines in low and middle-income countries during this global health crisis. After the emergency authorization from FDA, Gilead has pledged to donate all of its existing supply, about 1.5 million vials, which is enough for nearly 140,000 patients.
